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Wednesday, 29 February 2012

A few weeks ago Tim Holtz announced a new undertaking - 12 tags of 2012! His first tag was for February and I've posted it above, how gorgeous is this?!!! I really love the dimensional heart that he made for the tag from honeycomb paper and so I immediately went on the hunt for some for the shop. I am so pleased to let you know that we now have a selection of colours available in the shop right now including red, pink, brown, ivory and black.

If you haven't seen this amazing product before - prepare to be amazed!! You can use this with your dies and punches or even cut shapes freehand to make fun dimensional embellishments. Tim made a great YouTube video showing how he used it....

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

I've had a few enquiries regarding paying for the Creativity Escape next month and as we are so busy of late I thought the easiest option would be to add it to the shop online. You will find it at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk under 'crops & classes' and it will also be listed at the bottom of the page as its a new item.
I can't believe that it'll be March in just over a day! Not long to go!!

Sunday, 26 February 2012

Today was the last day of the show and was very much quieter right from the outset. I think the bright sunshine outside made people want to enjoy the fresh air rather than the event!
Having more time on our hands was deadly for Claire, I think she must have bought out half of the show! Every little foray out ended up with her returning with carrier bags of goodies!! She did get some good deals though, Claire even did some personal shopping for one of our customers who needed help with inkpad colours - if anyone knew where to get them at a great price it would be Claire! Lol!!

The day went really quickly and we had a fairly steady run of customers with a little mad flurry towards the end. Before we knew it the announcement came that the show had closed and the frantic dash to take down the stands began. It took us half a day to set up but only half an hour to take everything down and pack up, it's amazing how quickly you can throw stuff into a car! So we are now in the car making our way back home (where we still have to unload, urrrggghhh) and we are all a bit weary and somewhat footsore but feeling really pleased with how the weekend has gone.

I want to say a special 'thank you' to the three amazing people who made this event possible - Dave, Lynn and Claire. You were all amazing sales people and worked so hard to make this such an incredible success. I absolutely could not have done this without you guys and I am so grateful to have your support - I love you all xxx

Tomorrow will probably start with a lie-in, I think we have earned it!

Saturday, 25 February 2012

Our second day at Make It started off cold and damp but the show organisers were expecting many more visitors today regardless of the weather. We restocked the stand and switched out the kits that sold out yesterday so we were raring to go.
We didn't have to wait long before we were besieged and were so grateful that Claire had driven down for the weekend to help us. At one point the crowd around the stand was blocking the aisle!!
We have been really stunned at the reception our kits have had here. One lady told me that she thought that we were the best kit company in the UK as she had spent the last few years subscribing to all that she could find but couldn't find anything that had as many ideas, techniques and unusual products included. I went quite pink as we don't get a lot of feedback and to hear something like that really shocked me (in a good way!).
After another day of phenomenal sales we are looking forward to tomorrow. We have met some really lovely crafters, made some great contacts and met some old friends. So far the show has been amazing!

Friday, 24 February 2012

I had forgotten just how tough it can be to set up a stand for a show but it all came flooding back to me yesterday as we left Essex filled to the roof!! Poor mum had stuff on her lap, between her feet and tucked down the side of her but was so relaxed about it all.

We arrived on site at lunchtime and began to decorate the stand, quite literally - with wallpaper!! I hated the idea of a plain white stand that looked like every other one so we used wallpaper to create a backdrop for our kits. It took some doing and I lost 2 nails in the process but the end result was fabulous.

We arrived bright and early today for the first day of the Make It show and were raring to go. It wasn't long before the doors opened and the day started. We had masses of visitors to the stand and at several times we had crowds gathered round waiting to have a look and to buy. It was lovely to find so many scrapbookers who really appreciated what we had done in the kit line. We got lots of compliments on the stand - one lady said it was a work of art (not sure I'd go that far but it did look pretty!). The kits flew out and it wasn't long before a few designs completely sold out. Unfortunately quite a few customers had put off their purchasing until later in the day by which time their preferences had gone which was sad.

It was lovely to chat to people about the retreats, the Masterclasses and kit subscriptions. We signed up quite a few new people which was a great endorsement that what we are doing is meeting the needs of our customers. It looks like I'll be doing a bit more traveling in the near future!

Our demonstration project was really well received - I demo'd a really cute mini album page that is made from a single square sheet of paper with no cutting and no sticking!! The ladies loved it and I promised to upload the instructions onto here so watch this space!
So far this is proving to be a hugely successful show for us and hopefully things will continue in the same vein for the next 2 days, fingers crossed.

By the way, we were approached by a magazine editor today who is also a scrapbooker, she saw the massive interest on our stand and has fallen in love with one particular layout that she would like to feature in an upcoming issue - how exciting is that??!!!!!

Thursday, 23 February 2012

After a busy few days of preparation we are finally ready for the 'Make It' show in Farnborough, Hampshire! We gave away 5 pairs of free tickets to the show at the beginning of this week and it was great to get the excited responses from each winner - we love giving things away.

The stand will have a fab theme and we will be demonstrating a great project so if you are attending please be sure to drop by G20 and say "Hi". We love events where we can actually meet our customers in person and years after shows we still get messages saying that they met us at this place or that! There's nothing like having a natter about a shared passion and crafting certainly gives us plenty to chat about.

If you fancy a day out then why not consider coming along to the 'Make It' show, tickets are available on the door if you weren't fortunate enough to win tickets through us and it's a great opportunity to see a wide variety of different stands from a range of different crafts. There are demonstrations on stands, free make & takes and workshops throughout each of the three days so there's plenty to keep you busy. We really hope to see you there!

*****Any online orders not currently shipped will be posted on Monday 27th February *****

Saturday, 18 February 2012

The details for our third masterclass in the current series are up on our iScrap Masterclass page above. This time we have gone floral and shabby chic with a very feminine page that is unapologetically romantic! For more photos and photo sizes etc check out the page.

Thursday, 16 February 2012

I can honestly say that I really look forward to the delivery of the new Scrap365 magazine each month, this new UK mag has captured everything I love about scrapbooking between its covers. I am inspired by the international designers who contribute to each issue and love the range of styles and projects, there really is something for everyone inside!
The March issue is now in stock at Total Papercrafts and kit subscribers still have time to let me know that they want a copy added to their package before its posted out at the weekend! You can order online here and get ready to be inspired!!

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

The recent CHA trade show in America established a few new trends, last year it was yellow and grey and apparently this year its blue and orange in line with the pantone colour of the year being tangerine. Our second kit for February uses these on trend colours but I'll fess up and admit that it wasn't my original plan! We have ordered one of the new lines of Prima which had a release date of early February as our initial choice for this month but the release has been delayed which meant a hasty additional order.

Quite a few manufacturers have started producing 12x24 base card and so we thought we'd like to try using it in one of the kits, it certainly makes it easy to create a double page layout. We matched the base to a 6x6 pad of patterned paper, a chipboard alphabet and ribbon. We have also gone back to an oldie but goodie technique - eyelets! We've included some larger size eyelets in the kit and have a different lacing technique thats fun and easy to do.

The sample design uses four 6x4 photos - three portrait and one landscape. While the layout uses photos of Molly the cat, this isn't a pet themed kit at all and can be used for all sorts of different types of photos including holiday snaps, landscapes, kids, family and loads more!

We will be playing with a number of techniques with this kit including splattering ink, stamping with household items, colouring paper and floss and more!! The punch used for the sample will be available at our clubs for you to use.

Monday, 13 February 2012

There are oodles of printables available online right now, in fact there's something to suit all tastes but it takes something pretty special to catch my eye and this one certainly did! Twig & Thistle are offering a free printable of this design which they have shown on simple white paper bags. How gorgeous would this look as a card though?

I love the idea of the white paper bags printed up as well, great for wrapping a Valentine gift in a clean and simple way. The best thing is that this is free - perfect if you are in need of a last minute card!!

Friday, 10 February 2012

We announced the other day that we are going to be at the Make It show in Farnborough at the end of this month. This is a great show with loads of different exhibitors and a full programme of workshops on all three days. We are so excited to be attending the show and are in the process of designing a free make & take for everyone at our stand. We were thinking of something along the lines of our current 'Scrap your Scraps' projects where you learn something that you can take forward into your crafting but which will also stand on its own. What do you think?

Things are a bit tough at the moment so we wanted to offer something to help our customers out and so we are offering FIVE pairs of free tickets to attend the Make It show in Farnborough!! To be in the draw to win a pair of tickets all you have to do is post a comment about what you'd hope to see at the show on our Facebook thread. You can find our Facebook page here and it really couldn't be simpler! The closing date for the draw is Sunday 19th February.

We'd love to see you at the show so be sure to post a comment to be in the draw!!

Thursday, 9 February 2012

We found out last night at Kent club that Maria's waters had broken and so we were waiting with bated breath to hear news. Bright and early this morning I received a text letting me know that Maria had given birth to her beautiful 2nd daughter Sophie at 4.22am. Isn't she gorgeous?!

Its such an exciting time as we have quite a few babies due in the next few months so it is wonderful to hear of the safe arrival of the first. I can hardly wait to get some cuddles in (if I can wrestle Sophie away from Pauline!! LOL!!), our clubs are like little families and we have seen our respective children grow up in person and through photos on the pages we create.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

The world wide web has given us all unprecedented access to all sorts of information and has made it possible for us to connect with people all over the world. Within my lifetime we have gone from crackly international phone calls to my family in Australia to being able to Facebook and Skype with my Nan who is in her 80's! It really is incredible just how much smaller the world is now thanks to the web.
There is of course a downside to this subject and that is the challenge of staying safe online and protecting both ourselves and our family members when using the web.

Today is Safer Internet Day, an international campaign aimed at keeping us all safer when we are online. While it would be nice to think that everyone out there in cyber space only has good intentions, anyone who has ever inadvertently downloaded a virus, received a nasty email or had their account hacked will know only too well that this just isn't the case. Our young people can be particularly vulnerable online, not only can they experience all the above but also the relatively new phenomenon of cyber bullying. A day like this is a great way to raise awareness of our safety online and talk about how we use our computers. I hope you have a very happy and safe Safer Internet Day :)

Monday, 6 February 2012

Exciting news - we are going to be exhibiting at the Make It show at Farnborough this month!! We used to go to shows quite a bit in the early days and had such a great time meeting people and showing what we do but then we got crazy busy and the prices went through the roof. We got a great deal for this show though and couldn't resist the chance to get back out there!

We will have a stand for all three days of the show where you can purchase our fab kits on an individual basis, sign up for a subscription, enter our free prize draw and also do one of our free 'Make & Takes'. We will be on stand G22 so if you are planning on coming to the show please be sure to pop by and say "Hi"!!

Thursday, 2 February 2012

By sheer coincidence I received two emails today from kit subscribers who had just had their kits delivered. They were from completely different ends of the country and both were letting me know what they thought about the January kits they had just received. Here is what they said......

Just to say my kits arrived yesterday and boy, oh boy …. Were they worth waiting for? They are simply delicious and scrummy and all those other words usually wrongly applied to stuff that isn’t all that delicious and scrummy …. These TRULY ARE! I love them – don’t know why, but your kits always knock spots off any others I may have tried in the past …just up my street, so thank you again. Patty x

Karen, how lovely are those Bo Bunny papers in this month's kit. Dont know if I can bring myself to cut them up!

Thanks

Sue

It is so lovely to hear from those who get the kits in the mail, we do get feedback from the clubs but its a little different getting a kit cold through the post and so hearing from our subscribers is really precious to us. Thank you ladies for your lovely emails and we want you to know that we really appreciate the time you have taken to get in touch with us this month. We think you're going to love what we have for you in the next couple of months too (Prima on pre-order!!).

If you are considering subscribing to our kits we have space on our list, you can sign up through our online shop here and we'd love to hear from you want you think!